Love doesn’t wait for life after all.
It has begun: the bingeing of sapphic holiday romance reads.
No lie, I re-subscribed to Kindle Unlimited just for this, feeling festive and all. Plus, I plan to buy a few others which aren’t on KU. The ones I want to read are pretty affordable, and I’ll definitely share reviews on this blog (and/or maybe on my BookTube) if they are any good.
Anyway, the first book of many is Under the Mistletoe by Everly James.
Summary from Goodreads:
Samantha Evans, popular lesbian romance author, has writer’s block and a book due by New Year’s Eve. When she signs up for a writing retreat in an attempt to overcome her lack of creativity, she expects a single-occupancy cabin and plenty of silence for crafting her new book.
What she doesn’t expect is a roommate. A gorgeous, woman roommate.
Gia Torres is an aspiring novelist eager to break into the publishing world and leave her horrible day job as a barista behind. She travels to a Colorado retreat to finish her very first novel, not expecting to find beautiful Samantha waiting for her there.
The only problem? The two women hate each other.
How will they overcome their first impressions and let Christmas sparks fly?
This short novel contains blizzards, snowbound lovebirds, Christmas lights, steamy romance scenes, and a happily ever after.
Honestly speaking, I didn’t expect much from this story going in.
It’s supposed to be a feel-good holiday romance, and it succeeded in playing that role. However, I expected them to focus on the fact that it’s set at a writer’s retreat in a winter wonderland turned biggest motherfucking blizzard of the decade, as they put it (nonverbatim).
The story kind of strayed away from that after a little more than the halfway point, which was when the writer’s retreat had ended. I just thought we’d have explored their relationship at the retreat more, and while it did develop rather quickly, it just felt a little abrupt.
The romance felt very insta-lovey for me, and that’s one trope that I really dislike. I mean, I understand that slow burn is just about impossible to write in under 200 pages. But falling in love during the short span of a writer’s retreat felt too contrived, especially after seeing how much they hated each other for the majority of it.
As for the “steamy romantic scenes?” Like the entirety of this book, even the sex scenes felt a little abrupt, almost rushed. They’d catch you at the beginning, and then leave you mostly disappointed. Might as well have just faded to black, honestly.
Don’t let my preferences stop you from picking this up, though. The book has plenty of strong points as well. For example, the very lovely writing style. It read smoothly, and it’s beautifully descriptive. I love how detailed the scenes are, especially the ones where Christmas settings are described. It’s almost like being there, made me excited to put up decorations.
The diverse cast of characters are also fantastic. Both characters are lesbian POCs; Sam is Black, while Gia is Latinx. Sam has a gay best-friend-slash-personal-assistant. They have a nonbinary friend who they met at the retreat who went by they/them pronouns. I also really loved when the author mentions Sam’s braided hair, and both characters’ glowing golden skin.
Finally, I appreciated how we see Samantha and Gia’s individual writing processes, as well as growth as writers — and as people — after meeting each other.
Rating: 3 stars (⭐⭐⭐)
Overall, it’s an okay story. I’d still recommend it to anyone who loves a good enemies-to-lovers romance with an incredibly adorable (understatement) happy ending. You’ll definitely be smiling by the end. The holiday theme of this story was, in my opinion, just a fun bonus.
This is just first of many of the sapphic holiday romances on my list!
I’ll be sure to make a compilation post with all my recommendations for easier access and reading. I hope the next books on my list will be better, but this is just the start!
FIND ME ELSEWHERE:
Cherry Actually Reads 